WEATHER FORECAST FOR MONDAY, APRIL 9TH, 2018
TODAY – SOME LINGERING MORNING FLURRIES OR SNOW
SHOWERS. GENERALLY CLOUDY. HIGH NEAR 40.
TONIGHT – PARTLY CLOUDY. A FEW FLURRIES OR SNOW
SHOWERS POSSIBLE. LOW – 25.
TUESDAY – MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH – 45.
And now it’s time for beaver county memories presented by St. Barnabas Beaver Meadows. In today’s segment, we will take a look at one of the more popular festivals that occurred in Beaver County around this time of year, Nationality Days, and its celebration of very diverse and beautiful cultures that developed following the mass influx of people from all over the world who migrated and settled in these parts.
Typically held around the third weekend of May, Nationality Days in Ambridge was the physical incarnation of a labor phenomenon that began happening about half a century earlier. Shortly after the industrial revolution, Beaver County was well on its way to becoming one of the leading areas for steel and other product manufacturing. The rivers located in this area provided two advantages that made the surrounding land attractive to industrial entrepreneurs. First, the waterways provided access to transportation to ship raw materials in like coal, and finished products out like steel coils, rolls and beams. Secondly, the naturally occurring stretches of flat land located along the waters, like the six mile stretch between Aliquippa and Monaca, where Jones and Laughlin Steel was built, created perfect places to set up rail transportation as well. The only thing missing was the people. But, just like barges floating slowly up the river delivering coal to feed a hungry steel mill, passenger ships full of immigrants soon began arriving in droves from across the Atlantic Ocean full of people that were in search of work, to the mills and factories in the area that couldn’t function without them.
They came from Croatia, Serbia, Greece, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, The Ukraine, and middle eastern nations like Syria and Lebanon, along with other countries. They also came in droves from southern states like Georgia and Mississippi. They came by the thousands, too. Beaver County’s population would more than double from the days before heavy industry and reach a peak of over 210,000 people in the 1970’s. Reportedly, in the earlier part of the twentieth century, Aliquippa’s Jones and Laughlin works was completing another house, every day, on average, as the company tried to keep up with the influx of new hires arriving to the town and provide housing for its workers.
Naturally, the incoming families to Beaver County lived, worshiped, and socialized with other people of the same mind set and national origin. This led to an additional advantage other than finding employment. It lead to the preservation and proliferation of many different foods, lifestyles, languages and ideas that added spice, figuratively and literally to the culture of Beaver County. One could travel the world without ever leaving Beaver County with churches, social halls, clubs, and even private schools springing up in every neighborhood displaying and proclaiming the traditions of the homeland from whence its members arrived.
Realizing the uniqueness of the situation, and the fact that they had a natural way to lure people to and promote their town, along with the obvious fun of being able to visit a giant food festival, The Greater Ambridge Chamber Of Commerce organized and started Nationality Days in 1966. According to an ad that appeared in the Beaver County Times that year, the event featured food booths from ten different churches in Ambridge and was set up on Merchant Street between 6th and 7th streets. The festival was held for three days and was a huge success with visitors flocking to Ambridge from all over the region to sample ethnic treats like Pierogi, haluski, gyros, baklava, kolbasi, Stuffed grape leaves, paczkis (poonch – kees) and many other delicacies representing the diverse groups of people living in the town.
In the peak years of the Nationality Days festival, it grew to stretch four blocks through the main part of town on Merchant Street, starting at 4th and going to the 7th street block and included dozens of food booths and crafters along with daily attractions and entertainment. Merchant street would become so crowded that it was hard to move. Festival goers packed the closed down street and sidewalk from one storefront on the east side of Merchant, all the way over to the storefronts on the west side. In its hay day, It was like a mosh pit, only with great tasting food. Nationality Days was a truly unique experience that was on everyone’s calendar, every year for the fifty years that it happened.
Even the best ideas run its course. Demographic shifts, declining population, and reduced interest from church volunteers to staff the booths eventually took its toll on the festival. In addition, the “Melting Pot” effect had blurred the lines over the course of time and strong ethnic tradition and culture preservation are naturally no longer as prominent in recent days. Attendance and vendor interest began to decline around the late nineties and early two thousands. The last Nationality Days Festival happened in 2016. All is not lost, however, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Ambridge still hosts a very successful Greek food Festival annually in July, and St. Elijah Serbian Orthodox Church in Aliquippa stages an event of their own in early fall, among other smaller celebrations of ethnic culture that continue to occur throughout Beaver County.
This has been Beaver County memories, presented by St. Barnabas Beaver Meadows. Tune in every day at this time for more Beaver County memories. A transcript of this and other archived editions of Beaver County memories can be found at Beaver County radio dot com.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to become the first team since the 1980-83 New York Islanders to win three consecutive Stanley Cup championships. They’ll start their title defense against the Philadelphia Flyers, whom the Penguins swept in the regular season series, 4-0-0.
(Photo courtesy of Matt Drzik)
Taillon tosses 1-hitter, Pirates top Reds 5-0
By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh’s Jameson Taillon dominated the struggling Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, allowing just one hit while picking up the first shutout of his career as the surprising Pirates rolled to a 5-0 victory.
Taillon (2-0) struck out seven and walked two. The lone hit he surrendered came on Tyler Mahle’s single to center with one out in the third. Taillon even added an RBI single off Mahle (1-1) in the second.
A night after missing a start due to concerns over a bruised right foot, Gregory Polanco turned on a Mahle pitch and sent it into the right-field seats for a two-run homer in the fifth. Corey Dickerson tacked on a solo drive later in the inning, his first with Pittsburgh after being acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay.
Polanco and Josh Harrison each had two hits for the Pirates. Polanco drove in two runs to push his total to 13. The right fielder didn’t reach 13 RBIs last season until June 3.
Mahle lasted just 4 2/3 innings in his sixth major league start. The rookie was sparkling while limiting the Chicago Cubs to one hit over six innings in his 2018 debut, but couldn’t keep the surging Pirates in check.
Mahle allowed five runs and nine hits. He came undone in the fourth when the Pirates pushed across four runs.
The struggling Reds were dealt a serious blow in the fourth inning when third baseman Eugenio Suarez fractured his right thumb when he was hit by a Taillon pitch. He took first base after being tended to by trainers but was removed in favor of Cliff Pennington when Cincinnati took the field in the bottom of the inning.
Cincinnati managed just two baserunners after Suarez’s exit, both coming on two-out walks in the seventh and the ninth.
The Pirates are relying heavily on their young rotation if they want to be a factor in the competitive NL Central and Taillon has looked very much like the ace Pittsburgh envisioned after trading Gerrit Cole to Houston in the offseason.
Manager Clint Hurdle sent Taillon back out for the ninth for the first time in Taillon’s career and after walking Pennington with two outs, Taillon retired Joey Votto on a lineout to left to give the Pirates their first solo one-hitter since A.J. Burnett accomplished the feat against the Cubs on July 31, 2012.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Joe Musgrove remains in a non-throwing period after being placed on the disabled list last week with a right shoulder strain. General manager Neal Huntington said the plan remains for Musgrove — who excelled after being moved from the rotation to the bullpen last season for Houston — to work toward being a member of the rotation in Pittsburgh.
Reds: LHP Brandon Finnegan (left biceps strain) will make a rehab start for Triple-A Louisville on Monday.
UP NEXT
Reds: Visit Philadelphia for three games starting Monday. Cody Reed will make his 2018 debut for the Reds. The 24-year-old is 1-8 with a 6.75 ERA in 22 career games for Cincinnati.
Pirates: Begin a six-game, seven-day road trip in Chicago on Monday against the Cubs. Pittsburgh went 4-5 last season at Wrigley Field. Ivan Nova (0-1, 6.10 ERA) faces Chicago’s Tyler Chatwood (0-1, 1.50 ERA).
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
Man found shot dead in alley; help from public sought
WILKINSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Police are asking for help from the public in investigating the homicide of a man found shot to death in an alley in a borough near Pittsburgh.
Allegheny County homicide investigators said emergency responders were notified about an unresponsive man in the Wilkinsburg alley at about 6:40 p.m. Saturday.
The man was found to have gunshot wounds was pronounced at the scene. The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office identified him as 29-year-old Aaron David James of Wilkinsburg.
Police said that shots were reported in the area about three hours before the 911 call about the body.
Anyone who heard or saw anything connected with the case is asked to call the county police tip line.
McClutch! McCutchen HR in 14th lifts Giants over Dodgers 7-5
By MICHAEL WAGAMAN, Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Andrew McCutchen snapped out of a prolonged slump with five hits in six at-bats Saturday night. Midway through his seventh at-bat, he knew it was just a matter of time until he got hit No. 6.
McCutchen hit a three-run homer to cap a 12-pitch at-bat against reliever Wilmer Font, giving him a career-high six hits and the San Francisco Giants a 7-5 victory over Los Angeles on Saturday night.
“You’re talking about a great hitter that was having a great night,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “He topped it off really well, didn’t he?”
McCutchen fell behind Font 1-2 before fouling off seven pitches. He then turned on a high-and-tight 2-2 fastball and drove it into the seats in left field, scoring Kelby Tomlinson and Joe Panik, who both singled off Font (0-2).
“I was just trying to fight him off, fight him off, until I got comfortable enough to whatever he threw up there I was ready to hit,” McCutchen said. “He didn’t elevate it too much there, and I was able to elevate.”
McCutchen drove in four runs and raised his batting average from .083 to .258. The 2013 NL MVP got a hearty ovation from Giants fans for the walk-off blast, his first big moment with San Francisco since being acquired from Pittsburgh in an offseason blockbuster.
“Finally showed up today. Finally,” McCutchen said. “It’s only what, Game 7, but when you’re not getting hits, it feels like it’s forever. Feels good to show up today and do the job.”
Buster Posey also homered for the Giants, who wasted leads of 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3 before winning on McCutchen’s shot. Panik added three hits and Austin Jackson had two.
Roberto Gomez retired three batters for his first major league win. The Giants emptied their bullpen by using nine relievers.
“They kept us in the ballgame,” McCutchen said.
The Dodgers had taken a 5-4 lead in the top of the 14th when Logan Forsythe singled in Yasiel Puig.
The game lasted 5 hours, 16 minutes after beginning two hours later than originally scheduled due to heavy rains that forced the postponement of Friday’s game. It was the sixth rainout in AT&T Park history and the first since 2006.
Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts was down to one reliever when the game ended. Roberts also used two starting pitchers, Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu, as pinch hitters.
Chase Utley homered, Corey Seager had two hits and reached base five times, and Cody Bellinger added a pair of singles for Los Angeles.
The Dodgers are 2-6, matching their worst start since 1976.
“We just came up short again,” Roberts said. “That’s five runs in 14 innings. You have to look at each at-bat and the quality needs to get better. There needs to be a better pitch-to-pitch focus.”
Utley homered in the seventh, his first of the season.
Posey’s home run off starter Rich Hill was the first of the season for the Giants cleanup hitter and first since Aug. 8, 2017.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: RHP Josh Fields pitched a scoreless inning after being reinstated from the paternity list before the game. RHP Zach Neal designated for assignment after originally being optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. The change was made after the team claimed RHP Alec Asher off waivers from Baltimore.
STARTING OFF
Hill beat the Giants on opening day in Los Angeles but wasn’t as fortunate in San Francisco. The left-hander yielded three runs and five hits over five innings with six strikeouts and two walks.
Giants starter Chris Stratton struggled with his control again. He allowed two earned runs but walked four in five-plus innings.
UP NEXT
LHP Clayton Kershaw (0-2, 2.25) of the Dodgers faces LHP Ty Blach (1-1, 5.79) on Sunday in a rematch of opening day starters. Kershaw lost the first round despite allowing one run over six innings while Blach owns a career 1.41 ERA against Los Angeles.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
Suarez powers Reds past Pirates 7-4Suarez powers Reds past Pirates 7-4
By ALAN SAUNDERS, Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Eugenio Suarez hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning, and the Cincinnati Reds cooled off the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 7-4 victory on Saturday night.
Pittsburgh opened the season with six wins in seven games and then jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Cincinnati in the second. But the Reds chipped away at the deficit before Suarez finished the job.
Joey Votto hit a sacrifice fly in the third, and Jesse Winker added an RBI single in the fifth. Suarez then tied it at 4 with a two-run single off Dovydas Neverauskas with two out in the sixth.
Suarez came up again with two on in the eighth and drove a 0-1 fastball from George Kontos (0-1) over the wall in left. He finished with three hits.
Wandy Peralta (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win and Raisel Iglesias worked the ninth for his second save.
Cincinnati right-hander Sal Romano allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings. He struck out one and walked one.
Corey Dickerson hit a two-run double for Pittsburgh in the first. Josh Harrison added a sacrifice fly in the second, and Adam Frazier had an RBI single.
But Cincinnati’s pitching tightened up after that, retiring 16 straight Pirates from the third through eighth innings.
Chad Kuhl struck out seven in five innings for Pittsburgh. He was charged with two runs and five hits.
TRAINING ROOM
Reds: OF Scott Schebler (right elbow) missed his fourth straight game after being hit by a pitch Sunday against Washington. The impact did damage to the ulnar nerve in Schebler’s elbow and he is dealing with a lack of feeling in his hand as result. The Reds are still contemplating a move to the disabled list.
Pirates: RF Gregory Polanco was a late scratch with right foot discomfort after fouling a pitch off his foot on Friday night. He is day to day. Frazier replaced him in the lineup. … RHP Joe Musgrove (right shoulder strain) will begin throwing next week in Chicago.
UP NEXT
Reds: Tyler Mahle (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will pitch the series finale on Sunday afternoon. Mahle, 23, will be making just his sixth career start, but it’ll be his third against Pittsburgh. He made his major league debut against the Pirates last August.
Pirates: Jameson Taillon (1-0, 3.38 ERA) will make his second start of the season. He tied a career high with nine strikeouts against the Minnesota Twins on Monday.
The 41st Annual Beaver County Maple Syrup Festival got under way on Saturday April 7, 2018. Beaver County Radio broadcast live throughout the day. The cold temperatures and snow, yes snow didn’t keep people from coming out the the festival to enjoy pancakes, vendors, re-enactments, and an array of maple flavored treats. Check out all of the fun in the pictures below…….
Moran and Marte lead streaking Pirates over Reds 14-3
By JOHN PERROTTO, Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rookie Colin Moran had four hits and three RBIs, and Starling Marte hit a bases-loaded triple to lead the streaking Pittsburgh Pirates over the Cincinnati Reds 14-3 on Friday night.
Moran’s two-run single with two outs in the third inning just dropped in front of diving center fielder Billy Hamilton and put the Pirates ahead for good at 4-2. Marte’s triple keyed a six-run sixth inning that included Corey Dickerson’s two-run double as Pittsburgh extended its lead to 10-2 while playing through a steady rain.
Pittsburgh is off to a 6-1 start following an offseason in which the Pirates traded five-time All-Star center fielder Andrew McCutchen and ace pitcher Gerrit Cole.
Dickerson had three hits, including a triple, and Jordy Mercer had two doubles among his three hits. The Pirates had 15 hits, including two each by Marte and Josh Harrison. Harrison also drove in two runs and Josh Bell drew three walks.
Gregory Polanco hit a two-run double during a four-run seventh that made it 14-2. He has six extra-base hits and 11 RBIs in seven games.
Trevor Williams (2-0) scattered two runs over 5 1/3 innings despite allowing 10 hits. He pitched six hitless innings to win at Detroit last Sunday in his first start of the season.
Luis Castillo (0-2) allowed four runs and six hits in five innings and has a 9.00 ERA through two starts. His 3.12 ERA in 15 starts last season led NL rookies.
Jesse Winker had three hits for the Reds, and Joey Votto, Jose Peraza and Castillo added two each. Cincinnati hit into three double plays and stranded 10 runners in losing for the fifth time in six games.
Moran and Mercer hit back-to-back RBI doubles in the second inning. The Reds tied it in the third on run-scoring singles by Winker and Votto but didn’t score again until the ninth.
Clay Holmes, a 25-year-old right-hander, pitched the final two innings for Pittsburgh in his major league debut and allowed one run.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: RF Scott Schebler (bruised right elbow) missed his third straight game. He was injured last Sunday when hit by a pitch from Washington LHP Sean Doolittle.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati RHP Sal Romano (0-1, 4.50 ERA) is to start against RHP Chad Kuhl (1-0, 6.35) on Saturday night. Romano gave up three runs in six innings against Washington ast Sunday, when Kuhl allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings at Detroit.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
Penguins top Senators 4-0 to earn home-ice in 1st round
By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins will start their bid for a Stanley Cup three-peat home.
Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel banked in goals off Craig Anderson minutes apart in the second period, Casey DeSmith stopped 34 shots and the Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators 4-0 to clinch second place in the Metropolitan Division and home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.
Phil Kessel collected his 34th goal of the season and Patric Hornqvist pushed his career-high to 29 when he beat Anderson late in the third period for the Penguins, who will host Columbus, New Jersey or Philadelphia next week.
Anderson finished with 19 saves but was beaten twice from behind the goal line in the second period as the Senators lost for the ninth time in 11 games.
Crosby was standing just off the right post when fired a shot that smacked off Anderson’s left pad and into the net 1:25 into the second period. Guentzel scored from nearly the same spot just over six minutes later, flicking a rebound off the end boards that hit Anderson’s left leg and skittered in for his 22nd of the season.
That was more than enough for DeSmith, given the start a night after top goaltender Matt Murray played in a draining overtime victory over the Blue Jackets. DeSmith was sharp throughout while picking up his first career shutout, and by the time Kessel took a slick feed from Riley Sheahan and fired it into the open net 6:55 into the third the Penguins could turn their attention to the postseason.
Not so for the Senators.
Ottawa and Pittsburgh met in the Eastern Conference finals 10 months ago, with the Penguins winning on an overtime goal in Game 7 before going on to beat Nashville for their second straight Cup. The Senators hoped it would be a springboard to becoming perennial contenders. Instead they will miss the postseason for the third time in five years.
That hasn’t been the case in Pittsburgh for more than a decade.
The Penguins overcame a sluggish first half of the season to extend their playoff streak to 12 straight years, the longest active streak in the league. Now they’ve turned their attention to capturing a third straight Cup, something no franchise has done since the New York Islanders won four consecutive titles from 1980-83, more than two years before the oldest player on the Penguins — 32-year-old defenseman Matt Hunwick — was born.
Pittsburgh heads to the postseason relatively healthy outside of forward Derick Brassard, who is skating but remains out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. The Penguins also go in with the top power-play in the league and the best home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference after picking up their 30th victory of the season at PPG Paints Arena.
NOTES: Both the Senators and Penguins wore a butterfly decal with the initials “JP” on the back of their helmets to honor an Ottawa-area teen and longtime Senators fan who died this week due to a rare and debilitating skin condition. Jonathan Pitre, 17, was nicknamed “”Butterfly Boy” and developed a close relationship with the team after sharing his battle with epidermolysis bullosa. … Kessel played in all 82 games this season and has played in 692 consecutive games, the third-longest active ironman streak in the league. … Crosby played in every game for the first time in his 13-year career. … The victory was head coach Mike Sullivan’s 200th in the NHL.
UP NEXT
Senators: Finish up the season in Boston on Saturday.
Penguins: The first round of the playoffs next week. Pittsburgh has won at least one playoff series in four of the last five seasons.
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More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey